1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for mobile screen navigation. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for navigating between screens displayed on a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile terminals are developed to provide wireless communication between users. As technology has advanced, mobile terminals now provide many additional features beyond simple telephone conversation. For example, mobile terminals are now able to provide additional functions such as an alarm, a Short Messaging Service (SMS), a Multimedia Message Service (MMS), E-mail, games, remote control of short range communication, an image capturing function using a mounted digital camera, a multimedia function for providing audio and video content, a scheduling function, and many more. With the plurality of features now provided, a mobile terminal has effectively become a necessity of daily life.
Mobile terminals typically provide a user interface having a home screen. The home screen displays icons corresponding to applications and other features offered by the mobile terminal, such as a telephone function. The home screen may also display other information to the user, such as battery strength, signal strength, alert messages, currently playing music, and the like. As the user obtains more applications, or wishes to display more information on the home screen, the home screen may become more cluttered, and space may become limited. To address this issue, mobile terminals often provide a plurality of home screens.
FIG. 1 shows an arrangement of a plurality of home screens in a mobile terminal according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of home screens 110, 120, 130, and 140 are arranged linearly. To move from one home screen to another, the user inputs a movement signal to the right or the left, either via an input key or via a gesture on a touchpad of the mobile terminal. To move from screen 120 to screen 140, the user inputs a left-movement signal twice, such as by making two swipe motions on the screen in rapid succession.
The mobile terminal may support a wrap-around function, such that the user may move from screen 140 to screen 110 by inputting a rightward direction signal (e.g., by swiping to the right on screen 140). Alternatively, the mobile terminal may display a default screen, such as a search function, when the user attempts to move beyond the last home screen. For example, when the user swipes to the left while screen 110 is displayed, the mobile terminal may display a search screen.
However, while the linear arrangement of FIG. 1 is acceptable for a relatively small number of home screens, such as two or three, the liner arrangement becomes increasingly cumbersome. In the linear arrangement, each screen enables access to only two other screens. For example, the screen 140 can only be reached from the screen 130 (and, if the mobile terminal supports wrap-around, the screen 110). If the mobile terminal is displaying screen 120 and the user wishes to move to screen 140, the user must first move to screen 130 and then move to screen 140. Even if the mobile terminal supports a wrap-around function, the user would still have to move to screen 110 and then to screen 140. As the number of home screen increases, the number of movement commands required to move from one screen to another increases at a similar rate.
Accordingly, there is a need for a user interface permitting a user to more from one home screen to another quickly, even when a large number of home screens are provided.